Shipbucket

United Astarian Commonwealth Republics

Well, time to start a thread for this nation!
First of all to be clear, I rebooted the name for a couple of simple reasons:
-This way it doesn't start with "A" like 90% of AU nations
-I love weird and unnecessary acronyms
-Now i can use a cool prefix

I had originally envisioned this nation merely as a device to showcase and try out various ships types and designs and as such there's not much backstory,
Anyway the idea is that the UACR is a US-like powerfull industrial nation of unspecified location in the IRL timeline.
All the IRL nations and events play out the same and I envision the UACR as essentially a third party in events such as WW1 and WW2; I know this doesn't make any sense , but as I said the goal here was just to try my hand at various ship classes in the iron and steam era without creating a complete alternate universe.

This said, I want to create my "ideal looking ship" for every type and time period, thus the priority will always be the look and aesthetic; this doesn't mean that realism, feasibility and basic common sense are completely disregarded, but they'll often have to give precedence to aesthetics.
The mantra here is "beauty IS function", and as an engineer graduate myself, I apologize to the Shipbucketeers out here that will have a stroke reading this.
A byproduct of this philosophy is that a lot of my creations, especially in the WWII era, look very "soviety" even if there's no in-lore reason as I envision the UACR society as more similar to the USA: the reason is simply that I like the look of Soviet ships from the 1930s onward and as such they are my main inspiration.



Ships of the Astarian Commonwealth Navy

Dreadnoughts & Super-Dreadnoughts

♦Polaris class [WIP]: ARS Polaris A50 (1914), ARS Alya A51 (1914), ARS Meissa A52 (1914)

Battlecruisers

♦Mira class: ARS Mira A40 (1911), ARS Minelava A43 (1912)
♦Cassiopeia class: ARS Cassiopeia A61 (1921), Spica, Andromeda, Sirius

Fast Battleships

♦Eridani class: ARS Eridani A62 (1938), ARS Corona A63 (1939), ARS Hydra A64 (1939)
♦Carina class: ARS Carina A65 (1943), ARS Lyra A66 (1944), ARS Vela A67 (1944)

Heavy Cruisers

♦Ligeia class: ARS Ligeia B35 (1926), ARS Helena B36 (1926)
♦Aurora class [WIP]: ARS Aurora B50, ARS Pallada B52, ARS Galatea B55, ARS Urania B57, ARS Olympia B59, ARS Iris B60

Light Cruisers

♦Ambrosia class: ARS Ambrosia B80 (1950), ARS Eurydice B81 (1952)

Destroyers

♦Victrix class: ARS Victrix C59 (1938), ARS Ferrata C60 (1939), ARS Pia Fidelis C61 (1939), ARS Triumphalis C62 (1939), ARS Gemina C63 (1939), ARS Adiutrix C64 (1939), ARS Rapax C65 (1940), ARS Alaudæ C66 (1940)

Ambrosia class of 1950

The Ambrosia class were the last light cruiser and conventional gun cruisers to enter service in the Astarian navy.
In WWII the Astarian Republics Navy employed a three calibre standard for it's dual purpose guns (100mm, 130mm, 150mm), during the latter stages of the war however it was decided to shrink the standard to just two calibres for the next generation of weapons: 115mm for destroyers and heavy cruisers secondary batteries, and 140mm for light cruisers and CVs and battleships secondaries.
The end of the hostilities meant that the introduction of this new weapons was delayed and the Ambrosia class ships ended up as the only cruisers armed with the 140mm guns; this made this ships both optimised for anti-aircraft duty and formidable surface combatants.
Two ships out of five planned were built in the late '40s; in the mid 1960s both ships started conversion into anti-aircraft missile cruisers but only Ambrosia re-entered service with Eurydice's conversion being halted half-way trough.
Ambrosia continued to serve in the Astarian navy for the following decade while Eurydice was kept for spare parts until bot ships were scrapped starting in 1978.

Ships in class

-ARS Ambrosia (B80), 1950
-ARS Eurydice (B81), 1952


ARS Ambrosia (B80) in 1950


Armament

-15x 140mm Mk I L/60 in 5x triple Mk I turrets
-33x 55mm/65 HAC-1 in 11x triple Mk I turrets
-20x 30mm/68 Mk IV in 10x twin 'AnTI' powered mounts
-12x Mk XIV 600mm torpedoes in 4x triple launchers
-Depth charges

Carina class of 1943

Ships in class

-ARS Carina (A65), 1943
-ARS Lyra (A66), 1944
-ARS Vela (A67), 1944


ARS Carina (A65) in 1943


Carina was comminsioned wearing this "Conventional II (Mod)" camouflage scheme.

Armament

-9x 420mm Mk I/II L/50 in 3x triple Mk I turrets
-18x 150mm Mk XVIII L/50 in 6x triple Mk V turrets
-18x 100mm Mk X L/65 in 6x triple Mk IVb turrets
-64x 40mm/56 in 16x quadruple mounts
-56x 20mm/70 Mk II in 12x quadruple mounts and 4x twin powered mounts


ARS Vela (A67) in 1946


Vela received a significant refit in 1946 that ended just a few days before the Victory Fleet Review.
The anti-aircraft battery was completely overhauled with the 40mm/56 quadruple mounts being replaced by 40mm/56 twin and sextuple mounts.
Vela was one of the first ships in the Navy to receive the brand new 30mm/68 Mk IV in quadruple Mk I turrets which, along with the single mounts, replaced the older twin and quadruple 20mm mounts.
The radar and electronics suite was also upgraded, most notably the Iz54.2 air search radar, a SK-2 derivative, substituted the 'S. Lux' (Mk III) set.
Many other smaller changes were implemented, for example the bridge was modified with a reduced slope on the windows.

Armament

-9x 420mm Mk I/II L/50 in 3x triple Mk I turrets
-18x 150mm Mk XVIII L/50 in 6x triple Mk V turrets
-18x 100mm Mk X L/65 in 6x triple Mk IVb turrets
-88x 40mm/56 in 14x sextuple mounts and 2x twin mounts
-52x 30mm/68 Mk IV in 12x quadruple Mk I turrets and 4x single mounts

Cassiopeia class of 1921

The last and most powerful battlecruiser to be built for the Astarian Republics navy, Cassiopeia was supposed to be the leader of a four-strong class with her sisters being named Spica, Andromeda and Sirius.
The UACR managed to complete only the first ship of the class before the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty; Andromeda and Sirius were, however selected for conversion into aircraft carriers under the provision of the Treaty and ended up creating the Andromeda class CVs.

Ships in class

-ARS Cassiopeia (A61), 1921

ARS Cassiopeia (A61) in 1940


Between late 1938 and mid 1940 Cassiopeia received a significant modernization; less than a month after reentering service she was engaged in battle against enemy capital ships suffering a catastrophic boiler explosion that broke the keel and almost sunk the ship.
Repairs were given low priority however, and she came back online only a few months before the end of the war.

Armament

-9x 380mm Mk III L/50 in 3x triple Mk III turrets
-18x 130mm Mk VIb L/50 in 6x triple Mk II turrets
-32x 40mm/56 in 10x quadruple mounts
-16x 20mm/70 Mk II in 8x twin mounts

Greetings! And welcome to the wonderful world of Shipbucket AU! As a contributor to this forum (Nusantara, War of the Americas) I have had my own struggles with aesthetics over function and I like your willingness to embrace more esoteric designs - best of luck!

Cheers!
Stealthjester

Victrix class of 1938

With the Second London Naval Treaty removing weight restrictions on destroyers the Astarian Republics Navy immediately started designing a new destroyer leader class that would embody the Navy's ideal vision for this type of ships.
A standard displacement of over 2600 tons allowed the 130mm/50 guns to be installed in the twin DP turrets from the Aurora class heavy cruisers; the impressive (for a pre-war design) AA firepower was complemented by 30mm and 20mm autocannons.
The torpedo battery was composed of twelve 530mm torpedo tubes and the ships also carried the standard load of depth charges and mines at a design speed of 40 knots.
In the first ships completed were also of note the interiors being extremely luxurious for destroyers (and warships in general) standards, although this was drastically toned down in the ones completed after the beginning of WWII.
All but two ships survived the war with Adiutrix and Alaudæ being sunk in 1941 and 1944 respectively, most of the surviving ships went on to have relatively long Cold War careers since they were better suited for upgrades compared to many of the war-built destroyers; Ferrata is the only remaining member of the class serving as a museum ship in Blackwathers.

Ships in class

-ARS Victrix (C59), 1938
-ARS Ferrata (C60), 1939
-ARS Pia Fidelis (C61), 1939
-ARS Triumphalis (C62), 1939
-ARS Gemina (C63), 1939
-ARS Adiutrix (C64), 1939
-ARS Rapax (C65), 1940
-ARS Alaudæ (C66), 1940



ARS Victrix (C59) in 1938


Armament

-6x 130mm Mk VIb L/50 in 3x twin Mk III turrets
-6x 30mm/72 Mk III in 2x triple mounts
-14x 20mm/70 Mk II in 7x twin mounts
-12x Mk XIII 530mm torpedoes in 3x quadruple launchers
-Depth charges
-Mines


ARS Ferrata (C60) in 1942


All the ships starting from Triumphalis were completed with the much superior 40mm twin mounts in place of the 30mm guns and by 1941 even the first three ships had received this gun. In 1942 Ferrata had her 20mm placed in powered mounts and new AA directors with 'S. Clare' targeting radar were installed.
A 'S. Lux' (Mk IV) air search radar was also added along with a number of other modifications; Ferrata wore a "Conventional* (Mod)" camouflage scheme for the latter three quarters of 1942.

Armament

-6x 130mm Mk VIb L/50 in 3x twin Mk III turrets
-4x 40mm/56 in 2x twin mounts
-14x 20mm/70 Mk II in 7x twin powered mounts
-12x Mk XIII 530mm torpedoes in 3x quadruple launchers
-Depth charges
-Mines


ARS Rapax (C65) in 1946


By 1945 Rapax was boasting sixteen 40mm guns at the cost of a torpedo launcher and a couple of 20mm mounts.
In that year the ship also recived an overhawl to the radar equipment, including the new Iz54.3 air search radar, Iz 53.1 height finder and Iz51.1 targeting radar for the 130mm guns.

Armament

-6x 130mm Mk VIb L/50 in 3x twin Mk III turrets
-16x 40mm/56 in 4x twin mounts and 2x quadruple mounts
-6x 20mm/70 Mk II in 3x twin powered mounts
-8x Mk XIII 530mm torpedoes in 2x quadruple launchers
-Depth charges
-Mines

Ligeia class of 1926

The Ligeia class was a pair of heavy cruisers, the first such type built by the United Astarian Commonwealth Republics under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty and as such was rather unorthodox in design.
The hull form was adapted from earlier destroyer-leader-type ships which forced 'C' turret to be placed amidships, this wasn't helped by this turret being a triple in order to get a nine gun broadside.
At 34 knots service speed the Ligeia class was fast for the period, but armour was heavily sacrificed to stay within the 10.000 tons displacement limit; With a 65 mm belt this ship was protected only against destroyer fire and the underwater protection was sacrificed too.
The new 130mm Mk V L/40 guns made up the secondary battery while also serving as heavy AA weapon, the as-built anti aircraft suit was complemented by four 30mm/72 Mk III triple mounts and four twin Se-Ba 13mm machine guns.
The anti-aircraft battery of this ships would drastically change over the years, especially during WWII; already not even a full year in commission Ligeia reverted back to Mk IV Ti-A machine-guns in place of the experimental air-cooled Se-Ba machine-guns.
The Ligeia class ships were also supposed to receive the new Mk XII 530mm torpedo launchers, but this weapon was not yet ready for 1926;
The older Mk XI 500mm launcher was thus fitted, which also helped saving weight.
An enclosed hangar for two floatplanes was included in the design, the only UACR cruisers with this feature until the Astræa class of 1944.
As commissioned the ships carried the STaAs-3 floatplane, a domestically produced variant of the Loeling OL specifically designed for the Astarian Republics Navy (known as Loeling EOL-1 internally)
This sips' design was ultimately considered unsuccessful and all subsequent AR Navy's ships adopted a more conventional layout.
Despite their shortcomings this sips faired well in the first years of WW2, mainly fighting as part of cruiser task forces, the lack of protection however played a major role in Ligeia's loss in 1942 wen she was hit by long-range shells from enemy light cruisers that damaged her turbines leaving her an easy target for subsequent torpedo bomber attacks.
Although Helena survived the war by 1946 she was extremely outdated and got scrapped that same year.

Ships in class

-ARS Ligeia (B35), 1926
-ARS Helena (B36), 1926

ARS Ligeia (B35) in 1926


Armament

-9x 200mm Mk VI L/55 in 3x twin Mk IIIa turrets & 1x triple Mk IIIb turret
-8x 130mm Mk V L/40 in 8x single HA Mk III mounts
-12x 30mm/72 Mk III in 4x triple mounts
-8x Se-Ba 13mm machine guns in 4x twin mounts
-8x Mk XI 500mm torpedos in 4x twin launchers

partly very elegant and partly unusual but interesting designs with an individual, characteristic line.

All very beautiful ships, but that camo scheme on the Carina is especially striking. Very nice work!

_________________

MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

#FJB

Mira class of 1911

After the single Benevolence and her direct successors of the Superba class, the Mira class represented a major step-up in Astarian battle-cruiser design.
While the preceding ships had 11in guns and a 200mm thick main belt, the main battery of this ships was upgraded to the more powerful 300mm guns used on the battleships and the main belt was upgraded to 260mm.
Speed remained the same 26 knots, but in order to keep weight in check the number of main battery guns had to be reduced to seven (partially compensated by having all the turrets on the centerline).
As in the benevolence class, secondary firepower was provided by 130mm guns in casemates, but on the Miras their number was increased from 12 to 14.
However, unlike their predecessors, the ships of the Mira class weren't ordered together, but as single ships accompanying their year's class of battleships:
as such Minelava was completed more than a year after her sister and to a slightly modified design.

Ships in class

-ARS Mira (A40), 1911
-ARS Minelava (A43), 1912

ARS Mira (A40) in 1911


Like all the capital ships not serving overseas, Mira wore the standard peacetime Guard Fleet scheme until 1914.

Armament

-7x 300mm Mk VII L/50 in 2x twin Mk I/IIa and 1x triple Mk I/IIb turrets
-14x 130mm Mk IV L/50 in 14x single casemates mounts
-6x 90mm Mk III L/45 in 2x single casemates and 4x single open mounts
-4x Mk XVI 500mm submerged torpedo tubes